From Schaumburg to Baghdad, a soldier reflects on rebuilding Iraq

Matthew W. Zajac went from Schaumburg High School to college to officer training to the front lines of Operation Desert Shield in Kuwait in five short years.

In his 18 years of active Army duty since, Zajac's career has included work in the Horn of Africa and with a humanitarian de-mining training team. And, just since 2001, he has served in Afghanistan twice, completed one full tour in Iraq and is in the middle of another.

Zajac, who turns 42 this month and is now a lieutenant colonel, commands the 700 soldiers of the 46th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy), which he says is like a small construction company and which is, in the most literal sense, busy rebuilding Iraq from the ground up.

Daily Herald Assistant City Editor Diana Wallace got a chance to talk with Zajac by phone recently from his brigade headquarters near the Baghdad airport that houses his unit and four subordinate companies.

In edited excerpts below, Zajac - whose parents William and Janet now live in Carpentersville - talks about the war, the president's timeline for leaving Iraq and about how he keeps in touch with his wife, Jodi, who's also a lieutenant colonel and is serving in Afghanistan.

On the work of his battalion, which not only supports other military units by building roads and footprints for base camps but also supports civilian reconstruction: We remove the rubble, the debris, the stains of conflict and establish a sense of what we consider to be normalcy in their daily lives. ... We're removing some of the years of neglect.

What's really unique for a heavy construction unit is the support of civil reconstruction. Not many units have done that in the past, using soldiers to rebuild schools, hospitals, clinics, infrastructure. ... We've done it by partnering with the Iraqi Army and their engineers and with local community leadership.

On stateside perceptions of the war vs. what he sees: I think a perception that exists is that we're spending a lot of money and not seeing results. I would counter that. We have spent a lot of money, but the results we have seen have been in developing a local community ... in rebuilding, at the face-to-face level.

For example, we've used funds to establish a trash collection system. We invested in a new business, hired a local Iraqi company, hired local workers from the community, with us as seed money. ... (When that contract expires), the intent is that the process is then picked up by local Iraqi leadership, the mayor and the local public works organization. ... We've shown them how to do this ... The people now have expectations that it continues.

By and large we've seen success in terms of the transition into an enduring capability (for other projects like) maintaining sewage lines and parks and recreation areas... We've attacked the electricity problem with micro-generation projects. We've established generators and collections grids to power up three to four blocks and then turn these over to local district leaders.

On recent Iraqi elections: I think the fact that the elections have just occurred on Jan. 31 was a defining moment for the country for proof, if you will, of what has been accomplished. They occurred without (widespread) violence. ... It is extraordinary how well the elections were conducted and how secure the people felt with the Iraqi security forces in the lead. There has been a lot of criticism of the conflict but if you look at the simple fact that the regime has been removed ... and the country is peacefully transitioning power to the next set of elected leaders. That was inconceivable even in 2005, that last time I was deployed here. ... It was very violence-prone.

I believe the political process, the momentum, is undeniable. The Iraqi people have demonstrated, most importantly to themselves, that a representative government can work ... without bloodshed and violence.

There's a very difference sense from the people themselves on the streets of Baghdad. There's a great deal of economic activity.

On the election of President Obama and his timeline for removing troops from Iraq: Any leader is going to establish a series of goals, so my role is to ... execute the decisions of the commander-in-chief. Whether or not it is realistic is not a question that I consider. (A new leader) always brings different goals and different hopes.

(Obama's election) heightened the recognition ... that the strength of the American military is always being subordinate to the civilian leadership. ... By and large, across the board, we demonstrated again to the world that a representative government can peacefully transition (to a new leader) and not have the military in control of the process.

On keeping in touch with his wife, a lieutenant colonel serving in Afghanistan: We have the opportunity to talk on a fairly regular basis. If you go back to the first Gulf War ... literally back then you were lucky to get a piece of letter mail. Now the technology is almost overwhelming. I can go to a Morale Center, get online and videoconference with her. We maintain daily e-mail communication, and we talk on a regular basis. The physical separation is always a challenge.

(Children) are our next goal. She will be eligible for retirement when we return (to the States, in the fall) and we're looking to start a family.